Children's Hospital gets new name

Published: Friday, October 02, 1998

RAY WESTBROOKAvalanche-Journal

The name of Methodist Children's Hospital was changed to Covenant Children's Hospital during ceremonies held Thursday at the facility, and all pediatric services are scheduled to be transferred from St. Mary Hospital to Covenant Children's Hospital on Monday.

However, the neonatal intensive care unit will continue to be operated at St. Mary for as long as birthing services are offered there, according to Eddie Owens, director of community relations at Methodist Hospital.

"If a pediatric patient presents at the St. Mary ER and requires admission, they will be triaged and treated accordingly, and then transported over here to the children's hospital for admission through the children's hospital ER," he explained.

The name change for the children's hospital is the first of several expected for the entities of St. Mary and Methodist as a result of a merger of the two hospitals, which was completed June 10.

As an example, Owens said, cardiology will eventually shift over to the Methodist Heart Center and become Covenant Heart Center.

"Ultimately - and this is targeted for around the first of the year - Methodist will become Covenant Medical Center, and St. Mary will become Covenant Lakeside," he said.

The name change observed Thursday reflects the merger. "Covenant Children's Hospital is essentially the first merger of patient care services that we have been able to bring to fruition since the merger was finalized in June," Owens said.

Covenant Children's Hospital is described as this region's only free-standing hospital dedicated solely to children, and one of only six such facilities in Texas. It also is said to provide the region's only emergency center exclusively for children, with physicians and medical professionals treating patients 24 hours a day.